Menu

Infinity Ward

Titanfall Does Marketing Right.

I imagine this is guaranteed to grab attention (which is exactly what marketing should do!).

Apparently this monumental piece was built to replicate the actual size of the mechs in-game, which is also very cool.

Now if only they had a couple of guy parkouring around it…

Titanfall.

Titanfall for those who don’t know, is one of the most highly anticipated releases of this year. It was developed by several of the same minds that worked on the original Call of Duty Modern Warfare series. They parted ways with their previous software company “Infinity Ward” and began anew under Respawn Entertainment.

Published by Electronic Arts as an exclusive for Microsoft, Titanfall has drawn enormous attention from the gaming community. It breaks several current traditions for games of this genre, including keeping play to 6 vs 6, burn cards and of course adding in the ability to “parkour” or free-run around the maps.

From a marketing standpoint the Respawn / EA crew has done just about everything right:

1. They included open-ended Beta trials which engaged the gaming community (2 million players in 1 week!) and increased excitement to a near fever pitch (I know because I played!).

2. They maintained a clear strong presence at all of the big game conferences. This included winning “over 60 awards at its E3 2013 reveal, including a record-breaking six E3 Critics Awards, and Best of Show from several media outlets. (It also won official awards at Gamescom and the Tokyo Game Show)”.

3. They pushed for a strong online presence through web design, advertising and maintaining conversations on various forums.

4. They went hard to the paint on their print advertising, including ads in many mainstream magazines.

5. Then they developed this great guerrilla marketing campaign.

QUICK EDIT: We just came across this addition to their guerrilla marketing: Respawn had Titanfall pilots wandering the streets in the UK

Perhaps the biggest feather in their cap however has been the level of trust that they have developed with the gaming community. There has been a great deal of politics behind the scenes, including the reasons for their departure from Infinity Ward (Activision fired Infinity Ward co-founders Jason West and Vince Zampella in March 2010 for “breaches of contract and insubordination”. Their departure resulted in a series of lawsuits and a staff exodus. Later that year, West and Zampella founded a game development company, Respawn Entertainment, with many of the former Infinity Ward staff). Respawn already had a lot of gamer confidence for what they brought to the CoD franchise. Now with the release of their first big game, they have increased trust through their community engagement, their policies and their innovation.

Many have touted the developers as “for the gamers”, innovating and creating the next new style of shooter much in the same way they did with the original Modern Warfare. Many reviewers predict Titanfall to be the next step for the first-person shooter genre. This in stark contrast to many of the current first-person shooters which have been condemned as cliché and churned out copies of previous games.

We’re not sure if this ad placement was intentional… but it was hilarious!

What can we learn from all of this?

Respawn paid attention to what gamers wanted, they also stayed true to their vision and created the game that THEY wanted. The result has been an innovative new addition to the gaming community, one that very well may affect future games in the genre.

Takeaway 1: “They were innovative.” and “they paid attention to what [their customers] wanted”. They developed a product that would generate excitement and would sell.

Takeaway 2: They marketed hard, but they also marketed smart. They went to where their customers were. Advertising online on key sites, in specific media and magazines and through forums dedicated to their marketplace.

Takeaway 3: They engaged their market. The involved the players in Beta testing (which saw 2 million players!), they created open-ended discussion through online forums and they took part in trade shows that included interviews and one on one dialogue.

Summary.

Yup it looks like an awesome game and the marketing follow suit. That’s about all we have so enjoy some of the fan-made content and quotes regarding the game. This should give you an idea of the fervor that has been generated:

“I used to love BF4. Even with all of its glitches. I just tried to play and I found the game so dang slow. Nothing matches the adrenaline rush from rodeo-ing titans and finishing them off. This kinda blows for me as i am premium, but oh well. Guess ill have to stick to AC4 until Titanfall drops. xoxo gossip gurrrrl”

“It’s just COD with mechs? [Nope] Well, one single word sets it apart. Fun.”

“I’m done with Titanfall! ….I’ll be back after I grab some food. This game is awesome! I love capping me some flags!”

Oh Titanfall… why can’t I quit you?

Meme created by a Reddit user titled: “going from Titanfall to Battlefield 4”

Dubbed the “Call of Duty Killer”. Some say the original development team for CoD are the only ones who can end the endless churning out of CoD games.

Transition Marketing Services. Our passion is educating and equipping small business owners with the tools and strategies to succeed. We have made it our priority to know Specialized Marketing. We keep up to date on what is new, what is available and what makes the most sense for businesses of all sizes and backgrounds.We recognize that every Small Business is unique, and their Marketing needs to be as well. Visit us at our website and let us know how were doing or if you have any questions.TRANSITION MARKETING SERVICES – Small Business Marketing Specialists.